Kiss From A Rose
by KarasumaFirestorm
Summary: The trio after college, with hints of LG.
1. Gordo

Disclaimer: no one mentioned belongs to me, I guarantee it.  
  
Author's note: righty-o, this one takes place sometime after college graduation. I think anything past that you can pretty much glean from the text, so...here.  
  
P.S.: I hate the title, so it could be subject to change at any point. This was just what I named the file...  
  
*Karasuma*Firestorm*  
  
~*~ Kiss From A Rose ~*~  
  
~*~ One: Gordo ~*~  
  
Gordo rolled over in bed, threw his arm to one side as to make his shoulder more comfortable, and found it to be extended across a warm body.  
  
If there was any chance of him going back to sleep, it was gone now.  
  
He sat up, still a bit sleepy, but a lot more alert. He peered down at the second occupant of his bed, who happened to be one Lizzie McGuire, fast asleep.  
  
Oh, yeah. Lizzie had shown up on his doorstep last night, eyes red from crying, having had a fight with her roommate. She'd stormed out before she'd realized that she didn't have a place to go to.  
  
Then naturally, she remembered Gordo.  
  
Being that he was her best friend, and she his, Gordo couldn't have closed the door on the blonde, and of course invited her in. She had insisted that he keep the bed, but he would have none of it. They had argued --not harshly-- for about five minutes before finally conceding that they could share the bed.  
  
They'd stayed up late into the night, lying under the covers together, talking about anything and everything that crossed their minds. They'd had conversations like that before, but never in this particular situation, which only made it seem more special. Deep and spiritual.  
  
She looked better now. Innocent in sleep, free from pain, relaxed. A smile flashed over Gordo's face as he watched her sleep, and he settled back onto his pillow. Next to him, Lizzie stirred, and he became almost painfully aware of her close proximity, but while it unnerved him slightly, it soothed him more.  
  
He wanted to hold her, and the notion stunned him. This was Lizzie, of all people. They'd been through everything together, but she was like...well, okay, she wasn't exactly like a sister to him.  
  
Gordo lay on his side again, watching her body rise and fall with every breath, lulled into a sense of comfort. She moaned softly in her sleep, then rolled over and like a rag doll, flopped her arms about, one of them crossing Gordo's chest. Still fast asleep, Lizzie shifted closer to him.  
  
Gordo rearranged himself without waking her up, putting his arms around her. She felt small next to him, although between the two of him, she was probably bigger. She felt good in his arms, and he didn't want to let her go.  
  
He drifted off to sleep inhaling the gentle scent of her hair, a smile playing at his lips. 


	2. Lizzie

Disclaimer: no one mentioned belongs to me, I guarantee it.  
  
~*~ Kiss From A Rose ~*~  
  
~*~ Two: Lizzie ~*~  
  
Lizzie woke up feeling better than she ever had. As her eyes fluttered open, she was surprised to find herself enveloped in Gordo's arms. Slowly the memory of last night came to her: coming home to see her roommate and her boyfriend --ex-boyfriend, really, but only by a month or so!-- locked in a clinch on the couch. Lizzie had exploded, and her roommate had exploded twice as powerfully, and Lizzie, in tears, ran out of the house, vowing to never go back.  
  
The problem was, she had nothing packed, and nowhere to go.  
  
Well, not nowhere -- she had Gordo.  
  
The thought of showing up at Gordo's front door this late and begging for a spot on the couch was embarrassing, but she knew that he'd never turn her down. He could have his apartment filled with supermodels, and he still wouldn't turn Lizzie away.  
  
He'd insisted that she take the bed. Typical Gordo. She'd fought him every step of the way, insisting this was only a temporary thing, until she found a better place to stay, and she could take the couch. She wouldn't think of taking the bed.  
  
They reached a stalemate. Both of them were way too nice to think of taking the bed for themselves, so finally Gordo just proposed, "Fine. Neither of us will take the couch, so we'll share the bed."  
  
Lizzie hesitated only a second before agreeing that they were mature enough to handle it. They'd lain awake for hours, drinking in the darkness, talking about anything and everything. Lizzie had felt completely and totally safe.  
  
That was the way she felt now -- protected. Gordo's arms were strong around her, and she breathed in his scent. Essence of Gordo, she thought, smirking. It was strong and masculine, in ways she never pictured Gordo to be. But that had been in middle school, when he was just a kid. When they were both just kids, and now they were adults. It still translated into their adult lives, the thrill of being near each other. Safe.  
  
"Lizzie?"  
  
Lizzie blinked. Gordo's voice was heavy with having just woke up. She debated whether to feign sleep or not, then figured there was no point in hiding from her best friend. She shifted slightly, careful not to escape from his arms, because she quite frankly didn't want to, and smiled over her shoulder at him. "Mmm. Morning."  
  
"Are you feeling better?" he asked, his lids drooping and a dopey half-smile on his face.  
  
"Yeah," she said softly. "Thanks."  
  
"Of course."  
  
"You're so cute when you're not awake," she marveled, delighting in the way that they could just be together.  
  
"Then I must be frickin' adorable right now," he muttered.  
  
"Wanna go back to sleep then?"  
  
"I'd love nothing better," he said, closing his eyes and dropping his head back on the pillow. Lizzie smiled at his prone figure, then with as little motion as she was capable of pulling off, she leaned over and kissed his forehead, before settling back in his embrace once more and falling asleep again. 


	3. Breakfast

Disclaimer: no one mentioned belongs to me, I guarantee it.  
  
~*~ Kiss From A Rose ~*~  
  
~*~ Three: Breakfast ~*~  
  
They both woke up a few hours later, when sunlight was streaming brightly through the open window in the next room, flooding Gordo's bedroom like an unwelcome visitor. Gordo was surprised to see that neither of them had moved at all while asleep; Lizzie was still snuggled safely against him, his arms still holding her tightly. This was nice.  
  
"Oh, God, what time is it?" Lizzie groaned, stretching and blinking. Her muscles went taut and then slack against him, and Gordo realized he should probably get up. A bit reluctantly, he let her go.  
  
"Why? You gotta work today?" he asked.  
  
"Mm. No. I was just wondering."  
  
As he swung his legs over the side of the bed, his nose caught a whiff of something. He sniffed cautiously. "Liz? Do you smell..."  
  
"Bacon?" Lizzie finished his thought. "Yeah, I do."  
  
They cast a confused, worried look at each other, and Gordo padded into his kitchen, Lizzie at his heels.  
  
Miranda was standing over the stove, watching as strips of bacon sizzled, humming to herself. "What the hell are you doing here, Miranda?" Gordo asked.  
  
She turned and smiled at the both of them. "I'm making breakfast."  
  
"I can see that. How'd you get in?"  
  
"Spare key at the top of the doorframe," she answered, turning back to the bacon with an amused smirk playing at the corners of her mouth. "Imagine my surprise when I looked in your room and saw you and Lizzie in a *very* compromising position. Speaking of which, morning, Lizzie."  
  
"G'morning," Lizzie said automatically, looking distracted.  
  
Gordo glanced back and forth between his best friends for a second before throwing in, "You know, Miranda, it wasn't what it looked like."  
  
"Of course not," Miranda agreed, but in that tone of voice that suggested she was only humoring him.  
  
"You're never going to believe what I found when I got home from work last night," Lizzie said. "Melissa making out on my couch."  
  
"You get home most nights to Melissa making out on your couch," Miranda said offhandedly.  
  
"Yeah, but this time it was with *Corey*. The little whore was getting hot and heavy with my ex! And the way she talked, this wasn't the first time. I think I found out who he was cheating on me with."  
  
"Oh, like you really care what trash that guy flaunts around with," Miranda said. "You dumped his ass a month ago."  
  
"But under my own nose!" Lizzie said indignantly.  
  
Miranda turned off the stove and transferring the bacon to a platter, which she set in front of the two and joined them at the island. "Liz, the way you talk, you're not really over Corey."  
  
"Oh, puh-lease. That guy was total scum and I never should've dated him," Lizzie answered, stuffing a bacon strip in her mouth.  
  
"Then why the anger?" Gordo said.  
  
"'Cause I don't like being lied to," she said through a mouth of pork.  
  
"So you sought solace...in Gordo's bed?" Miranda asked slowly.  
  
"C'mon, Miranda, like you haven't spent the night here plenty of times," Gordo pointed out.  
  
"On your couch!"  
  
"I've let you have the bed!"  
  
"You didn't share it with me," Miranda said with a leering smile, having reached her point.  
  
"I didn't want him to have the couch," Lizzie said. "It was bad enough showing up at his door in the middle of the night."  
  
"Lizzie, you were *in his arms*."  
  
Lizzie blushed slightly. "Could we not talk about me as if I'm not in the room?" Gordo said irritably. "I was just giving her a hug, Miranda, chill. She's been through a lot. It's no big deal."  
  
Miranda rolled her eyes skyward and smiled innocently. "If you say so."  
  
Lizzie groaned. "I'm going to have to find a new place to live," she said.  
  
"Aren't you being a bit melodramatic?" Gordo said.  
  
She looked at him accusingly. "Hello? Five seconds ago, you were just saying that I've been through a lot. A little sympathy, here?"  
  
"I'd say he gave you plenty last night," Miranda said into her coffee mug.  
  
Her two best friends turned to glare at her. "Shut up, Miranda," they chorused, but instead of getting mad, she only laughed.  
  
"You can stay here for a little bit," Gordo offered after a moment's silence. "Provided you pay half groceries and rent."  
  
"Yeah, not a prob," she said, getting up and dumping her empty plate in the sink. "Thanks, Gordo."  
  
"No sweat."  
  
Miranda clapped her hands together. "Great. Apartment-hunting means new outfit means mall. Let's go."  
  
They stared at her blankly. "Um, we're not showered or dressed or anything," Lizzie said.  
  
"And you have to wash the dishes," Gordo added, as they left the room.  
  
Miranda groaned at the pile of greasy plates. "Must I do *everything*?" she groaned. 


	4. Mall

Disclaimer: no one mentioned belongs to me, I guarantee it.  
  
~*~ Kiss From A Rose ~*~  
  
~*~ Four: Mall ~*~  
  
The afternoon (considering that with one shower and two residents, not to mention the fact that Miranda had to run to her house to grab some clothes for Lizzie, all of which took considerable time) found the trio in the food court of the mall, gorging themselves on giant pretzels.  
  
"Isn't it sad that our habits haven't changed from high school," Gordo observed.  
  
"Well, we were heavy drinkers in college, and look where *that* got us," Lizzie said, sipping at a lemonade. "Way too many nights spent on the floor of one of our dorm rooms."  
  
"I became intimately acquainted with the disinfectant scent of your carpet," he agreed.  
  
"Hey, sleeping in Gordo's room did get me a date or two with his hottie roommate and his hottie roommate's hottie friends," Miranda said. "So I regret nothing."  
  
"So what it comes down to, Gordo," Lizzie said, ignoring Miranda's statement, "is that we're just trying to make up for those lapses in judgment that lasted us for our entire college careers. We're trying to fall into a niche, a nice little routine that hopefully doesn't involve heavy alcohol consumption, because my dorm room toilet can attest that that's *not* a routine I should be doing constantly. It just so happens that our niche was tried-and-true in high school. It's not mundane, it's...*comfortable.*"  
  
Gordo blinked at her. "Whoever said it was mundane?"  
  
"You said it was sad."  
  
"They're not the same thing in the slightest."  
  
"In that context, they were."  
  
"Could we talk about something else?" Miranda whined. "Like that cute guy working the nacho stand."  
  
"You hate nachos," Lizzie pointed out.  
  
"The cheese is liquid plastic," Gordo threw in.  
  
Miranda slid out of her chair with surprising grace and poise, considering she was weighed down by a Big Gulp that could probably contain a Great Lake in its depths. Maybe two. "So, I've changed my mind. I'm Spanish. Nachos are good."  
  
Gordo and Lizzie glanced at each other, simultaneously rolling their eyes. Miranda caught this, but instead of being insulted or annoyed, only smiled. "You two are so cute together," she said with glee, then sucked at her straw and strode purposefully towards the nacho stand.  
  
"What is *with* her?" Lizzie said irritably.  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Her insinuations." Lizzie looked at the lump of stray salt on her paper plate distastefully. "I mean, why is she so desperate to push you and me together? I mean, you and me? A couple? Lizzie and Gordo? Come on."  
  
"I'm insulted by that," Gordo said, and he actually sounded insulted.  
  
Lizzie immediately looked contrite. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. You're a *fantastic* guy. It's just that we're best friends, you know? That's all."  
  
"Yeah, it would be freaky," Gordo agreed, neglecting to mention that he had a crush on her throughout all of eighth and ninth grade. That was unimportant, and Lizzie would tweak if she knew, because they were so obviously incompatible as anything but friends.  
  
Lizzie, on the other hand, was neglecting to mention that she had on numerous occasions considered what the world would be like if she and Gordo *were* an item, because if Gordo knew that, he would go completely ballistic, since he so obviously thought they shouldn't be.  
  
Miranda returned tot he table, carrying a cardboard basket of nachos and a small plastic container of cheese, and her Big Gulp in the other hand. "Gay," she confirmed sadly, gazing at the chipping countertop. She allowed herself a few seconds of self-pity, then shoved the basket at her friends. "Nachos, anyone?"  
  
"You're Spanish," Lizzie said, "nachos are good." She pushed them back at Miranda, then stood up. "C'mon, Gordo, we need to find some curtains."  
  
"I have curtains," he said, following her hastily.  
  
"I'm gonna live there, too, remember? You *need* to get rid of those rags you call decoration."  
  
Miranda sighed despondently, and poked a chip in the tub of cheese. She brought it to her nose, sniffed it, then threw it back down with a groan. "They try to pass this off as food?" she said, tossing it in the trash and chasing after her friends. 


	5. Bedtime

Disclaimer: no one mentioned belongs to me, I guarantee it.  
  
~*~ Kiss From A Rose ~*~  
  
~*~ Five: Bedtime ~*~  
  
By the end of that day, using some close surveillance on Lizzie's ex-roommate Melissa by Miranda, they'd managed to get most of Lizzie's stuff out of her former place and into Gordo's. To celebrate, the ordered a pizza and vegged in front of the TV.  
  
Miranda was sprawled out on the floor, pillows strewn underneath, on top of, and around her. "You look like Bed, Bath, and Beyond exploded," Lizzie observed, picking up the remote once the end credits of the TV movie they'd been watching ended.  
  
Miranda only grunted into one of the pillows.  
  
"What're you guys up for?" Lizzie asked, channel surfing at a moderate pace.  
  
"Meh," Miranda contributed, accompanied by a rousing "Dunno," from Gordo.  
  
Lizzie rolled her eyes. "Thanks. You're so helpful." She opted for an infomercial and settled back against the pillows while three pairs of eyes glassed over slightly, brains deteriorating slowly from the amount of crap they were watching.  
  
Lizzie yawned; finding out the truth about her scummy roommate, moving out, waking up in Gordo's bed, sneaking back into her apartment, and spending the afternoon at the mall was more tiring than she would've expected. Not aware of her action, lost in a comfortable state of semi-consciousness, Lizzie was leaning to one side, and her eyes fluttered opened when she realized her head was resting on Gordo's shoulder. "Ehh," she said sleepily, glancing up at Gordo, whose eyes were fixed on the TV, not fully awake either. He either didn't notice Lizzie's intrusion --which was pretty much impossible unless he *was* asleep-- or simply he didn't mind. A lazy smile flashed over Lizzie's face, and she dozed off again.  
  
It wasn't that being around Gordo was *boring*, because she could talk to him forever about anything and everything. It was just that being around him was so incredibly comfortable that she could fall asleep and not have a problem.  
  
Miranda glanced up at them, taking in Lizzie's head on Gordo's shoulder, and she smiled, getting to her feet and then shaking the two of them awake gently. "Yo, Lord and Lady We're-Just-Friends. I've gotta work in the morning, so I'm out, okay?"  
  
They blinked, becoming conscious. "Mm, yeah, work, go," Gordo said, yawning. "Check. Call later?"  
  
"I'd hate to call," Miranda said, rolling her eyes. "I might *interrupt* something."  
  
"Please, Miranda, when are you going to give up this little tirade of yours?" Lizzie said. "Gordo and I are just friends. Okay?"  
  
"Keep saying that, maybe someday it'll come true," Miranda said, shrugging into her jacket. She leaned over and kissed Gordo's and Lizzie's cheeks. "Ciao for now."  
  
"Bye," they chorused lamely, their voices etched with sleep. Lizzie lifted her head to look into Gordo's eyes. "You gonna go to bed?"  
  
"You mean I'm not in bed already?"  
  
"You're on the couch."  
  
"I can sleep on the couch." He yawned and then added unnecessarily, "I don't wanna get up."  
  
"So don't get up," Lizzie said, "I won't wake you." She turned down the volume on the TV and leaning her head against the soft back of the couch. As time progressed, Gordo fell fully asleep, and leaned to one side almost comically, before finally collapsing, using Lizzie's lap as a pillow and lost in dreamland, oblivious. Lizzie smiled and lazily ran her fingers through his curls, being lulled to sleep by the soothing voice of the female infomercial presenter.  
  
When she woke up, it was about three in the morning, and Gordo's head was still on her lap. They were clearly very still sleepers, seeing as how neither of them had moved in several hours, nor had they done much moving the previous night. Lizzie smirked slightly, recalling her troublesome, sleepless nights as a youth.  
  
Lizzie gently angled her body and slid out, being careful not to wake Gordo, which she didn't. She substituted a pillow under his head, then padded into the bedroom and crawled under the covers, not bothering to change. The sheets and pillows all smelled distinctly like that Essence of Gordo she'd marveled over the night before. She felt so at home that she didn't even feel guilty about taking the bed.  
  
She thought about how much time she and Gordo had spent lately, just lying around each other. While she knew it wasn't true, it *seemed* like they spent more time asleep together than awake together. It was like she'd told him at the mall, that comfortable routine. Your true best friends were measured by how much silence you could have between you, and what volumes that could speak. Sometimes Lizzie never had to say a word, knowing that Gordo would just read her mind and know exactly what she was thinking. Sometimes she wondered if he could read her dreams, and she didn't think she'd be surprised if he said that he could.  
  
Just as she was settling her head against the pillow and pulling the covers up, she saw a shadowed figure looming in the doorway. "I didn't mean to wake you," she said softly.  
  
"You didn't," he answered. "Mind if I join you?"  
  
"Plenty of room," she said with a smile, scooting over to one side of the bed. Gordo looked at the lump of sheets, then shook his head slightly, hair bouncing. "Be right back," he said, disappearing into the bathroom and then reemerging a few minutes later just dressed in a pair or sweatpants. The shadows danced across his bare chest, and Lizzie smiled at him through a sleepy haze. "You sure grew up, Gordo," she muttered as he climbed into the bed.  
  
"You too, McGuire," he answered. "Couple years ago, if I even suggested sleeping in the same *room*, you'd've freaked out and started administering cootie shots."  
  
She laughed slightly and kissed his forehead. "Night, Gordo." 


End file.
